As the country celebrates Children’s Day on Sunday, children in Kadampanadu, a village on the outskirts of Pathanamthitta district, will come together to express their opinion on what their local government should prioritise.
Children will assemble in all the 17 wards in the panchayat and bring out a charter of recommendations. Each group will elect representatives to a children’s council at the local-body level, which will hold its first meeting on November 20, World Children’s Day.
Later, a similar council will be constituted for the panchayat’s women residents, mostly to coincide the International Women’s Day in March next year. These initiatives are part of a year-long action plan by the local body to make its women and children participate in public decision-making processes.
Priyanka Prathap, panchayat president, said the programme, titled Nirbhayam Nervazhi, envisaged formation of a committee of experts in each ward, which would work in tandem with the vigilance committees formed by the Kudumbashree to facilitate entrepreneurship and better living conditions.
The office-bearers
“These parallel councils will have a president and a vice president, besides chairpersons for various standing committees, which will meet every month at the panchayat office. Based on their recommendations for civic actions, the panchayat will set its agenda for legislation and execute projects,” said the 23-year-old Ms. Prathap.
While women will be encouraged to take up entrepreneurship, children will be offered lessons in career guidance and self-defence. “They can approach our committees or ward members to share their problems, which will be addressed on a priority basis. The Kudumbashree, which runs 242 neighbourhood groups in the panchayat, too has a role to play,” she added.
The project, which seeks to create confidence, critical awareness and the ability to generate change and transform attitudes in the local community, was launched on November 1 this year.
